One of the most iconic darts tournament names returns to the calendar, as the Winmau World Masters takes place for the second time under the PDC umbrella in 2026. The PDC Masters underwent a major revamp in 2025, being renamed the Winmau World Masters and adopting the old tournament’s infamous best of three legs per set format.

Previously a non-ranking event and restricted to just the world’s top 24 players, the PDC World Masters is now a ranking event and features a bumper line-up with all 128 PDC tour card holders invited along with representatives from the organisation’s secondary and affiliate tours and young stars from the Junior Darts Corporation (JDC).

Now with a brand new identity, the PDC World Masters has captured the excitement of darts fans new and old. Luke Humphries (pictured above) defeated Jonny Clayton 6-5 in a thrilling final in 2025, whilst ahead of this year's edition all eyes are certain to be on the newly crowned back-to-back PDC world champion Luke Littler, who is looking to win the World Masters for the first time.

Where is the World Masters held? Arena MK in Milton Keynes staged every PDC Masters event from 2015 to 2024 and has continued to be the host venue for the revamped PDC World Masters

The 2026 PDC World Masters, known for sponsorship reasons as the Winmau World Masters, will be the 134h staging of a ‘PDC Masters’ competition and will take place from January 28 to February 1 at Arena MK, in Milton Keynes.

Arena MK has played host to the PDC Masters since 2015, with the Royal Highland Centre, in Edinburgh, hosting the first two editions of the competition in 2013 and 2014. Discover more about Arena MK and other famous darts venues in our ‘Top 10 Best Darts Venues In The UK’ blog.

The televised stages (January 29 to February 1) of the World Masters Darts 2026 will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, as well as through the PDC’s various global broadcast partners. The non-televised stages (January 28) will be streamed live on PDCTV.

When does the darts World Masters start? The 2026 PDC World Darts Masters begins on Wednesday, January 28 at Arena MK, in Milton Keynes. As a top 24 ranked player, Michael van Gerwen (pictured) receives a bye to the last 32

The darts World Masters schedule has been released for the first round (last 32) of this year’s tournament. The top 24 players on the PDC Rankings Ladder will be in action between January 29-30, with eight players from the preliminary rounds (held on January 28) joining them in the televised stages.

Below is the list of darts World Masters fixtures:-

Wednesday January 28 (1200 GMT) 
Preliminary Rounds

Thursday January 29 (1900 GMT) 
8x Last 32 ties

Friday January 30 (1900 GMT) 
8x Last 32 ties

Saturday January 31
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
4x Last 16 ties

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
4x Last 16 ties

Sunday February 1
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Final

How many sets in darts World Masters matches? The preliminary round matches are played over the best of three sets, with the format increasing as the tournament progresses with the final contested over the best of 11 sets

The PDC World Masters is made up of all 128 PDC tour card holders along with invited players from the organisation’s secondary and affiliate tours, as well as the top young prospects from the Junior Darts Corporation. The top 24 players on the PDC Rankings Ladder, which is the world rankings used on the professional tour, are seeded directly into the first round (last 32).

The preliminary rounds of the competition will see players ranked 25-56 on the PDC Rankings Ladder seeded through to the last 64. Those 32 players will be joined by 32 group winners from the round-robin group stage. The rest of the field, which includes all PDC tour card holders ranked 57 and below, along with the secondary and affiliate tour players, start off in a group stage.

The 2025 edition of the PDC World Masters marked a radical revamp of the tournament’s qualification criteria. From 2013 to 2020, the PDC Masters was restricted to only 16 players - the top 16 players on the PDC Rankings Ladder. In 2021, the competition was expanded from 16 to 24 players, with players ranked 17-24 in the world rankings also invited.

Another change for the 2025 competition saw the format moving from leg-play to set-play. The tournament has adopted the old World Masters format of the best of three legs per set, which was the same format used for many years in the World Masters that was run by the BDO up until 2019.

The World Darts Masters format is set-play with each match a race to a predetermined number of sets. As the tournament progresses, the number of sets a player needs to win increases. The preliminary rounds are a race to two sets whilst the World Darts Masters final is a race to six sets. Find out more about how sets and legs work with our ‘What Are Darts Sets And Legs’ blog.

Here is a breakdown of the World Darts Masters format:-

• Preliminary Rounds – best of 3 sets, best of 3 legs per set 
• First Round (last 32) – best of 5 sets, best of 3 legs per set
• Second Round (last 16) – best of 7 sets, best of 3 legs per set
• Quarter-Finals – best of 7 sets, best of 3 legs per set
• Semi-Finals – best of 9 sets, best of 3 legs per set
• Final – best of 11 sets, best of 3 legs per set

How much do players get paid for World Masters? Chris Dobey pocketed £65,000 for winning the 2023 edition of the PDC Masters. The 2026 winner of the PDC World Darts Masters will take home £100,000

The winner of the 2026 PDC World Darts Masters is set to take home £100,000. During its previous guise as the PDC Masters, the tournament’s prize money increased many times. The first staging of the Masters in 2013 had a prize fund of £160,000, including £50,000 for the winner.

The prize pot has jumped several times since then, with the latest rise in 2023 when the winner took home £65,000 from a total prize fund of £275,000. With an increased field of players for the PDC World Masters last year, the total prize fund jumped again to a bumper £500,000 – making it one of the most lucrative events on the darts calendar.

Below is the World Darts Masters prize money breakdown for the 2026 edition:-

• Winner - £100,000
• Runner-up - £50,000
• Semi-finals - £30,000
• Quarter-finals - £17,500
• Round 2 (last 16) - £10,000
• Round 1 (last 32) - £5,000
• Preliminary round last 16 losers - £2,500
• Preliminary round last 32 losers - £1,000
• Preliminary round last 64 losers - £750

The newly crowned two-time PDC world champion Luke Littler made his debut in the PDC World Masters last year

The 2026 Winmau World Masters features a stacked line up of the world’s best players. Amongst the 128 PDC tour card holders who have all qualified automatically via the tournament’s revamped format includes the 2025/26 PDC world champion Luke Littler, world number two Luke Humphries and the five-time Masters champion Michael van Gerwen. Former Masters winners James Wade, Peter Wright, Jonny Clayton, Joe Cullen, Chris Dobey and Stephen Bunting are also in the field.

The complete line up for the 2026 PDC World Masters has yet to be confirmed, with international stars from affiliate tours in North America, Asia and Australasia still to be determined.

 The 2014 PDC Masters final – the last match played at the Royal Highland Centre before the tournament moved to Arena MK – had everything. James Wade and Mervyn King faced off in the decider and the destiny of the title looked to be heading one way as King opened up a 9-2 lead in a race to 11 legs. However, Wade produced one of the most memorable comebacks in darts history as he won nine of the next 10 legs to prevail 11-10 in a last-leg decider!

After the thrilling conclusion to the James Wade/Mervyn King final in 2014, darts fans would have to wait a whole six years before the Masters decider would go all the way to a last-leg shootout again. The 2020 PDC Masters final saw Peter Wright survive three match darts in a dramatic deciding leg to beat Michael Smith 11-10 and get his hands on the trophy. Whilst it would be yet more major final heartbreak for ‘Bully Boy’ on that occasion, he would eventually end his hunt for big silverware with victories in the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts and 2022/23 PDC World Darts Championship!

Despite being a perennial title winner in the BDO, lifting back-to-back World Masters titles in 2012 and 2013 along with a Lakeside crown in 2014, Stephen Bunting went into the 2024 Masters without PDC major silverware on his darting CV. That would change on an unforgettable weekend in Milton Keynes, as ‘The Bullet’ saw off the record five-time Masters champion Michael van Gerwen 11-7 in the final of the 2024 PDC Masters. Although it was a non-ranking event, Bunting would kick on from his maiden major success in the PDC, reaching a second Ally Pally semi-final and climbing up to number five in the world less than 12 months later!

James Wade (pictured) is one of four players, along with Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright and Dave Chisnall, to have played in all 12 editions of the PDC Masters

The Winmau Blade 6 is the dartboard of choice for the PDC World Darts Masters, with the Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core Dartboard being used for every match in the tournament as part of the brand’s deal as the PDC’s official equipment supplier. Replicate a professional-like setup at home with a Winmau Blade 6 Dual Core Dartboard, made from the finest East African Sisal and designed to withstand plenty of use.

Darts Corner also stocks many of the signature darts and accessories used by players competing in this year’s World Masters including Luke Littler, Michael Smith, Gary Anderson, Dave Chisnall and Damon Heta. Upgrade your darts equipment to help level up your own game and enhance your playing experience at home! Explore our ‘Professional Darts’ collection for a wide range of pro-level gear to take your game to new heights!

The 2026 edition of the PDC World Masters is just around the corner as an expected field of 150+ players get ready to battle it our for the trophy. The World Masters takes place from January 28 to February 1 at Arena MK, in Milton Keynes, and will be broadcast live on ITV4.

Get in touch with the Darts Corner team and tell us your predictions for this year’s World Masters. Tweet us your predicted winner on X (Twitter) or leave a comment on our Facebook page.

Pictures: PDC